


Car Ride

by Lilly_Riches



Series: One-Shots [8]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Minor Character Death, People have masks, drunk father, i wrote this late at night, it's cute, it's great, super gay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-12
Updated: 2018-11-12
Packaged: 2019-08-22 19:12:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16603883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilly_Riches/pseuds/Lilly_Riches





	Car Ride

Ethan was walking home from theater practice, in the pouring rain. His parents couldn't pick him up. His mother was dead and his father was a drunk. Never home. Ethan was always alone, which was how he preferred it. If you were alone, no one would bother you or bully you except yourself. You didn't have to worry about your drunk father beating you if you were alone. You didn't have people constantly pestering you.

  Camden was driving, because he was a senior and had a drivers license. He was driving home to an empty house, like he always did. Most nights, he'd spend the night at a friend's house, but he couldn't tonight. Cam had a deep seated fear of being alone, even though he'd been alone most of his life. His parents left him when he came out, taking his younger sister with them. They claimed his "gayness" was "contagious." 

  As Camden was driving, he saw Ethan on the side of the road, walking home. Truth be told, Camden had had a crush on Ethan for quite some time, though the two boys never talked. There was just something about Ethan, his caramel brown hair, dark brown eyes, his bubbly personality. So he pulled over by Ethan.

  "Need a ride?" Cam asked. Ethan contemplated the offer, thinking of a nice way to reject it. He didn't want to be burden, another part of the reason why he liked to be alone. Before he could say anything, however, Camden kept talking. "And don't you dare say you don't, it's raining cats and dogs out there. Come on." And with that, Ethan decided he didn't feel like getting in a fight today. So he climbed into the car, avoiding Camden's intense gaze. 

  Camden pulled his gaze back to the road, a light blush dusting his cheeks.    
  "Where do you live?" He asked. Ethan was taken aback before realizing the whole point was for Ethan to get home. However, Ethan didn't want to be alone, not tonight. 

  "Is it okay if I just stay the night at your house?" Camden was shocked that Ethan asked, but he was happy nonetheless. Maybe he could get to know Ethan as a friend, and maybe that friendship could lead to something more. Plus, he wouldn't be alone, which was a pleasant thought in itself. 

  "Sure." The drive was silent, but it wasn't an awkward kind of silent, it was actually quite comfortable. Ethan looked at Camden-no, studied him. It was a hobby of his, sitting back and observing people. He wasn't a stalker, even if he knew more about people then they knew about themselves. The first thing Ethan noticed was that Cam's eyes were the bluest blue to ever blue. That was the only way Ethan knew how to put it into words. His golden blonde hair was parted to the right, and it looked as if Camden worked on it for at least an hour. It didn't look naturally done, not like Ethan's hair, which was naturally parted to the right. 

  After looking at all the features that were in front of him, Ethan dug deeper. Cam's cheeks were a light pink, caught in a neverending blush. Ethan guessed that was from his scrutinizing, but he wasn't about to stop. There was a story behind Camden's mask, one that Ethan was eager to read. Everyone wore a mask, and everyone believed the mask to be truth. But Ethan saw past the lies, and found the real truth, the things people liked to keep hidden. 

  Behind Camden's mask, Ethan found a sad, lonely little boy, one that reminded him of himself. There was no love or affection in the story, only hate and sadness. Camden hated himself, Ethan found out, but he couldn't figure out why. It was hidden too well behind the mask, or maybe Camden didn't even realize he hated himself. There was heartbreak too, and he knew this heartbreak came from parents. No lover could cause heartbreak this bad. Or maybe, Ethan could relate to this story, because it was similar to his own. The only difference was how they reacted to being alone. Ethan craved it; Camden despised it. 

  It was then, when Ethan finished, that he realized they'd been sitting in the driveway for quite some time. Ethan looked away, feeling as if he had violated Camden's thoughts. He'd never felt that before.   
"Why do you look at people as if they're a story?" Camden asked suddenly, catching Ethan by surprise. "What's there worth reading?" Ethan thought about it for a while. He honestly didn't know, but deep down, he did. He just wasn't ready to admit it. He had always liked a good story, but the best story of all, Ethan found, was the one people buried. Their stories were like horror stories, and they hid those horrors behind fake smiles, making their life seem more perfect than it was. 

"Everything." Ethan breathed out, reminiscing in all the secret stories he found. Each person's horror story was a chapter in a book, and that book was life. What a startling realization. 

"That's a vague answer." Camden pointed out, but Ethan didn't care. He didn't feel like sharing. "How about you tell me, and I'll tell you my biggest secret." This seemed stupid, because Camden had no idea if Ethan was trustworthy, but nonetheless, Ethan agreed. Maybe this big secret would unlock more of Camden's story.   
So Ethan told Cam about the masks and the stories, the chapters in the book of life. Neither realized they were still in the car, and they could've honestly cared less. Camden was absorbed in what Ethan said, seeing the world from his point of view for a moment. Once Ethan was done, Camden sat there, trying to take it all in. After a while, Camden piped up.   
"That's quite a way to see the world. But how can you be sure it's not your mind playing tricks on you? Not everyone lives with horrors, you know." Camden pointed out. 

"Sure they do. You have some. You experience heartbreak because your parents abandoned you." Ethan said, not bothering to sugarcoat it. Camden's eyes widened, no one knew about that, not even his closest friends. Was it that obvious? "And you hate yourself, but I don't know why. I have a few guesses, the main one being you hate yourself for whatever reason your parents left. Am I close?" Camden couldn't form words, so he just nodded. He found this kind of freaky, and it was then Ethan noticed Camden was silently crying. Camden didn't even notice it himself. Ethan pulled Cam into a hug, and Camden buried his face in Ethan's chest. After a while, he was all calmed down, and untangled himself from Ethan's arms. 

"I suppose I should tell you my biggest secret." Ethan tried to protest, saying he didn't have to. But Camden silenced him by kissing him lightly on the lips. Ethan was frozen, shocked into silence. As in all stories, Camden took it the wrong way, thinking Ethan was repulsed by him. Quite the opposite, actually, Ethan himself was gay, openly gay at that. He knew what it was like to like someone you didn't think you'd have a chance with. But that one kiss put everything into place; Cam's parents left because he was gay, in which then he hid it, hoping no one else would leave. And he hated that, hated himself for being a monster. Because that's what he had been led to believe. So Ethan pulled Camden into a hug and stroked his hair. 

"You're not a monster." He murmured. Camden got what he was hinting at, and sighed in relief. Maybe it wasn't so bad after all. 


End file.
